Black Copper Marans
The Black Copper Maran (Marans), French: Poule de Marans, is a breed of chicken from the port town of Marans in the département of Charente-Maritime in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of south-western France. A favorite at poultry shows, it is a dual-purpose fowl known both for its extremely dark eggs and fine meat qualities.
There are 9 recognized colors in the French standard: cuckoo, golden cuckoo, black, birchen, black Copper, wheaten, black-tailed buff, white and Columbian. Black Copper (black with copper feathers on the neck) and cuckoo (barred feathers, giving a black and white speckled appearance) are the most common of these. Other colors not officially recognized (such as blue copper, blue, and splash) also exist.
They should have orange eyes. The shanks are usually slate or pink, the soles of the feet should always be white as Marans have white skin, not yellow. Though the original Marans could also be feather legged birds, British breeders preferred the clean legged version, and thus feathered legged Marans are now mainly found in France and the United States. The Australian Poultry Standard recognizes both feathered and clean-legged. The American Poultry Association only recognizes feather-legged.
*Our Black Copper Marans are of Greenfire/Bev Davis’ lines.
Black Copper Maran History
The Black Copper Maran or Marans was created with the local feral chickens descended from fighting game chickens carried from Indonesia and India. Those original Marandaise fowl were “improved” for the table through recombination with imported Croad Langshans.
The Marans originated in Marans, France, and were imported into the United Kingdom in the 1930’s.
